A 28-year-old man has died in hospital after he received an electric shock while working at a Melbourne restaurant last Friday.

The man was initially revived after workmates pulled him unconscious from the roof cavity of the Upper House restaurant at Federation Square.

He was taken to St Vincent's Hospital in a critical condition but died yesterday morning, WorkSafe Victoria said.

This is the second electrocution death on Victorian work sites this year.

A man died from an electric shock while working under a house at Camberwell on January 2, WorkSafe said.p> In the latest incident, the 28-year-old man received CPR from workmates. He was clinically dead when paramedics arrived, but they managed to revive him.

The number of work-related fatalities reported to the Victorian agency this year now stands at nine, four more than in the same period last year.

WorkSafe executive director John Merritt said the rising death toll was a reminder for workers and employers to put workplace safety first.

“The high number of fatalities already this year, and the 29 in 2006, should be the greatest incentive for workers and employers to do everything they can to ensure a safe workplace,” he said.

“It is WorkSafe's tragic experience that all too often safety improvements are made after a death or serious injury. That's too late.”